The Atari History Museum

For those in our audience too young to remember President Carter, you may not have memories of just how big a force Atari was in the early days of video games.

Teenagers in the early 80's were obsessed with their Atari 2600's. Joysticks were vigorously operated as walls were broken with a bouncing ball (that was square), explorers made their way across swamps by jumping on crocodile heads (at precisely the right moment), and a yellow head gobbled up little dots (and their enemies, when they were flashing).

Today's FamilyFirst site is called The Atari Museum. Their mission is summed up thusly:

Welcome to the Atari History Museum. This site is the culmination of years of research and hard work by enthusiasts with the support of numerous former and current Atari employees and is intended to provide images and information on all areas of Atari. Our mission is the preservation of all things Atari (Its history, products and knowledge.)

Atari made as big an impact on society as Apple, Microsoft, or IBM. While once a leader in personal computers, its real mark was made in gaming.

The ubiquitous 2600 was made available to developers so that businesses like Activision, Tigervision, and Supergames were able to cash in on the craze as well.

Time eventually caught up with the 2600's limited graphical power, but not before untold millions of consoles, and a much higher number of game cartridges had made their way into teenager's bedrooms all over the planet.

Enjoy today's trip down memory lane. You might even want to rummage through your closet and find your shoebox full of cartidges.

http://www.atarimuseum.com

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